Speakers

THE PEKA PROJECT:

Lesotho is a deeply suffering country, afflicted by overwhelming poverty (2 in 5 people live on less than $1 a day) and extreme disease (over 1 in 4 people are HIV positive). The children of Lesotho are sometimes abandoned in trash dumpsters, toilet pits, or found alone in a forest. In a nation of 1.9 million people, there are an estimated 300,000 orphaned children. Beautiful Gate Orphanage successfully gives many children in Lesotho the opportunity to be more than just one of these statistics. They strive to give them the opportunity to be children…and give them a chance at life, ultimately hoping to find them adopting “forever families”, in Lesotho and abroad. However, the orphanage is at capacity and only mandated to take care of children up to the age of six. After that age, the children are forced into the broken Lesotho foster care system, where they very often end up a victim of human trafficking or child labour.

THE PEKA PROJECT is an answer to this horrific system. Through generous donations, Beautiful Gate was able to purchase land in Northern Lesotho: a big enough property to accommodate a new childcare centre. Peka will be a farm, school, and home to cater to children six years old and above. They also plan on creating a more focused care and development program for children with special needs.